Guan Tianyu was used to lording over the northern college, and he absolutely hated being passed over for anything. Most of all, he didn’t understand why he wasn’t chosen when so many new students were! His cultivation wasn’t weak, and he wasn’t yet part of the three specialized institutions, so he certainly qualified!

With a chip on his shoulder, Guan Tianyu’s gaze scanned over the list and settled on Yun Ruoyan’s name. Last time, when he and Rong Yueshan had tried to pit themselves against Yun Ruoyan, Guan Tianyu concluded that she was stronger than Rong Yueshan but still far weaker than he. 

Without using the bracelet’s power, Yun Ruoyan was only a peak seventh-rank blademaster, while Guan Tianyu was already eighth-rank and in the process of synchronizing with his blade. Although it was only one rank’s difference, that one rank was like the difference between heaven and earth.

The infuriated Guan Tianyu went looking for an outlet for his anger. 

“Sister Ruoyan, look! Your name’s on the list, and you’re right there near the front!” Lin Qingxue and Lin Qingchen dragged Yun Ruoyan into the crowd. Because she had known about the results for quite a while, however, Yun Ruoyan didn’t seem shocked or surprised at all.

“I heard that the other dimension’s littered with treasure, some so rare and potent that they’ve almost never shown up on the Chenyuan continent!” Lin Qingxue remarked.

“Allegedly, many of the spiritual herbs and pills that have gone extinct or been lost to time are commonplace in that dimension,” Lin Qingchen added. “But all that’s just hearsay. As for what the other dimension’s really like, it seems as if no one from the academy really knows.”

“All the elders have explored that dimension, and allegedly some of the students from the three specialized institutions have also returned from that expedition.” Zong Yang jumped into the three girls’ conversation. “None of the students seem to want to reveal too much about their own experience, but what they brought back with them truly are treasures beyond treasures. That’s why the rumor of the other dimension being littered with treasure is so widespread.”

“I know very little about this alternate dimension, but I’ll be able to see it for myself this time!” Guan Ruliu exclaimed.

“Right? To think that I would get such an opportunity myself!” Zong Yang couldn’t help smiling as he looked at his name, right below Guan Ruliu’s. As far as they were aware, any of the students chosen to enter the other dimension would be eligible to enter one of the three specialized institutions as soon as they returned—or even to graduate directly and begin amassing their own power on the Chenyuan continent!

Yun Ruoyan knew more than the other students did about the dangers involved, but Li Mo had told her to avoid spreading the information to avoid a mass panic. Kongming Academy had always made this selection appear like a positive affair, and news of the students who had died were deliberately hidden from most of the other students.

If the students were to know that less than one in ten students would be able to return from that dimension, and that frequently no one would return at all, would they be willing to enter?

“Hey, you there!” While they were talking, Guan Tianyu’s thin, skinny lackey shouted at their group. “Didn’t you hear our boss calling your name?”

Yun Ruoyan and the others looked toward the voice and saw the imposing Guan Tianyu heading in their direction.

“What, this tyrant’s trying to pick a fight with us again?” Lin Qingxue pursed her lips. “But where are Rong Yueshan and the others today?”

Indeed, Rong Yueshan, Pei Ziao, and Yi Qianying were all missing.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf or mute?!” The thin, skinny lackey had a shrill, piercing voice, instantly attracting the attention of much of the crowd gathered by the plaza. As soon as they noticed this famed tyrant, they quickly made way for him, then surrounded Yun Ruoyan and Guan Tianyu in a big circle as they looked on curiously.

Based on their past experience, this seemed to be the prelude to Guan Tianyu teaching someone a lesson.

Without any more bodies to hinder him, Guan Tianyu quickly walked up to Yun Ruoyan. He folded his arms and looked down at her disdainfully. “You think you have the skills to enter this other dimension?”

Yun Ruoyan only smiled blithely before turning to leave, not wanting to waste her saliva on him.

“What, afraid I’ll expose you in front of this crowd? Are you that eager to run away?” Guan Tianyu laughed from behind. “Don’t think that I don’t dare to do anything to you just because you’re Master Mo’s disciple! There’s no one in Kongming Academy whom I, Guan Tianyu, fear!”

“What’s this tyrant trying to say?”

“What’s there to expose?”

“Who cares? It’s a free show for the rest of us! This tyrant didn’t get into the roster, so he’s taking it out on those who did.”

Yun Ruoyan wasn’t affected by Guan Tianyu’s words or the discussion of the crowd around them. Instead, she had been so inured to such tricks by Yi Qianying and Yun Ruoyao that she knew some things were better left untouched. Instead of spending her energy defending herself against Guan Tianyu, she might as well start preparing for the expedition!

“Do you think the relationship between you and Master Mo can remain hidden for long?” Guan Tianyu asked provocatively, feeling slighted by Yun Ruoyan’s inattention.

“What nonsense are you speaking?!” Instead, Lin Qingxue was the one who became mad. She had originally intended on leaving with Yun Ruoyan, but now she had stopped and was looking back at Guan Tianyu in disgust.

This tall, imposing fellow was actually an unbridled gossip! Worse, he was beaming at Lin Qingxue after having successfully gotten her attention!

“I’m not speaking nonsense at all! This is something I heard from Yi Qianying and Rong Yueshan.” Guan Tianyu smirked, as though Lin Qingxue’s reaction proved that he had hit the nail on the head. “Perhaps some of you other students in the academy don’t know about this, but Master Mo’s both the head disciple of the first elder as well as the Slaughtering King from the Li kingdom.”

Guan Tianyu’s words led to a round of hushed murmurs.

“According to Rong Yueshan and Yi Qianying, Master Mo and Yun Ruoyan had a very ambiguous relationship even within the Li kingdom, and Master Mo had even once asked for Yun Ruoyan’s hand in marriage!” Guan Tianyu crowed. “Who would have expected that they would become master and disciple instead? Those out of the loop might think that they have an ordinary master-disciple relationship, but they’re actually a couple!”

Guan Tianyu’s accusation, which would indelibly stain Li Mo’s reputation, was undoubtedly severe. Even the crowd stopped their hushed murmurs, not daring to discuss the affair any further. Li Mo was well-known in Kongming Academy, and the Slaughtering King was well-known throughout the continent!

The only one who would dare slander him so openly was Guan Tianyu, backed by the second elder himself.

Lin Qingxue and Lin Qingchen were so angry that they were trembling, but they didn’t know how to refute his words. Although Guan Tianyu’s words were despicable, he wasn’t wholly incorrect. The Lin sisters naturally knew of the relationship between Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo, and they were both surprised to find out that Li Mo was going to take Yun Ruoyan as his disciple.

Both the Lin sisters had secretly asked Yun Ruoyan about this, but Yun Ruoyan refused to tell them much, and neither Lin Qingxue nor Lin Qingchen wanted to press her. Now that Guan Tianyu was dragging it out into the open, neither Lin sister knew how to counter his words.

“Guan Tianyu, do you know what you’re claiming?” Instead, Guan Ruliu was the one who spoke up. As one of the seniors of the southern college, she tended not to participate in such minor squabbles, but Master Mo’s reputation was something she had to defend.

“I, Guan Tianyu, never speak nonsense. If what I’m saying isn’t the truth, then why isn’t Yun Ruoyan refuting my accusation?”

This was Guan Tianyu’s common strategy: to incite his opponent into attacking him, at which point he would thrash his opponent in “self-defense”. 

“Guan Tianyu.” As all eyes turned to Yun Ruoyan, she finally spoke up. “Although I’m a new student, I know that you have a habit of trying to bully other students as soon as you become unhappy.” 

She clasped both palms behind her back. “You’re trying to incite me, to slander Master Mo. This isn’t something anyone from the southern college can put up with.” 

Li Mo’s name carried immense weight, especially within the southern college. Some of the students from the southern college had been raring to fight as soon as they had heard Guan Tainyu’s provocation, and now they were even more angry.

“This northern college’s tyrant, he’s just getting bolder and bolder, isn’t he? It isn’t sufficient that he’s bullying our juniors—now he’s trying to slander Master Mo himself? He deserves a beating!”

“Master Mo’s the Slaughtering King? He can’t be thinking straight if he’s trying to slander such an imposing figure!”

Yun Ruoyan smiled coldly. “If you want to fight me, then I’ll satisfy your desire so you don’t have to try to think up any more nauseating ideas.”

She lowered her stance and motioned for Guan Tianyu to make his move. Seeing that his preliminary goal was fulfilled, Guan Tianyu ignored the crowd and readied himself for a fight. His objective was simple: to hurt Yun Ruoyan and prevent her from being able to attend the training and hence participate in the expedition. As a result, her expedition spot would go to him, Guan Tianyu!

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